Yahya Jammeh, the Gambia’s fifa 17 coins embattled dictator, is digging in as pressure mounts on him to go. His presidential term expired at midnight on Wednesday, yet he has refused to budge. His intransigence has created a political crisis that threatens the peace and stability of the smallest country in mainland Africa.

All diplomatic efforts to peacefully resolve the impasse have so far failed. The last ditch efforts by Jammeh’s confidante, the president of Mauritania, to persuade him to step down collapsed a few hours before the Wednesday deadline. Jammeh has also rebuffed several offers of asylum from other African countries to end the stalemate.

He is now completely isolated nationally and internationally as his allies and cronies desert him. His vice-president of two decades and cabinet ministers have all resigned, asking him to respect the democratic will of the Gambian people. And his army chief, General Ousman Badjie, a close ally, seems to be wavering as military intervention looms. “This is a political dispute. I am not going to involve my soldiers in a stupid fight. I love my men,” he was reported to have told AFP.

The UN, the African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) no longer recognise Jammeh as president. Adama Barrow, who won last month’s presidential election, was sworn in on Friday at the Gambia’s embassy in Dakar, Senegal, after Jammeh declared a state of emergency, banning all public gatherings in The Gambia. The inauguration was a historic moment for the long-suffering Gambian people. It symbolised the end of a dark chapter in the country’s history. Gambians have endured one of the world’s most brutal dictators for 22 years. And with Barrow at the helm they hope for a new Gambia free of fear and terror.

But Jammeh, like most dictators, gives greater weight to his ego and grandeur over national peace and harmony. He is willing to use every means, including violence, to shore up his dying regime. We are, unfortunately, heading for a confrontation. Jammeh had convinced himself that he’d rule for life. The thought of him being sidelined or, worse, the possibility of prosecution for his many crimes has seen him make a last stand.

As Ecowas ratchets up the military pressure on Jammeh, Gambians face an uncertain future, filled with fear and trepidation. Soldiers from Ecowas countries are amassing at the Senegal border ready to dislodge him should the UN security council give the go ahead. Gambians and foreigners alike have fled the country, fearing the worst.

The military incursion is welcomed by many of the populace. Gambians are united by their hatred of a brutal dictator who has ruled over them with an iron fist. They are sick and tired of his shenanigans and would be happy to see the back of him. The west African forces led by Senegal would receive heroes’ welcome from Gambians. It’s their last hope to salvage their democratic mandate.

The Gambian armed forces, said to number some 2,500 soldiers, are outmanned and out-equipped by the Ecowas forces. Many may decide to surrender rather than resist the invading forces. Jammeh’s last stand will depend on a group of diehard loyalists who may opt to fight to defend him.

But this doesn’t bode well for the poverty-stricken nation where tourism accounts for 40% of the annual economic output. Brits made up 60% of the estimated 200,000 annual tourists, and the UK Foreign Office had warned against all but essential travel to country. Prolonged uncertainty would wreck the burgeoning tourist industry.

Thomas Cook is to fly almost 1,000 UK customers out of fifa 17 coinsthe Gambia, following a change in Foreign Office advice due to unrest in the country.

The west African nation has become a political battleground following presidential elections last month, with incumbent leader Yahya Jammeh unwilling to hand over power to the winner in the polls, Adama Barrow.

In response, the UK Foreign Office (FCO) are now advising against all but essential travel to the Gambia, citing the “deteriorating political situation and potential military intervention following the presidential elections on 1 December”.

In the latest of a series of attempts to retain power, a 90-day state of emergency was declared by Jammeh on Tuesday, two days before he is due to leave office.

In a televised announcement he said he was making the order “to prevent a constitutional crisis and power vacuum”, and that security forces were instructed to “maintain absolute peace, law and order”.

Thousands of Gambians have reportedly been leaving the country in fear of the situation deteriorating. “They’re worried there might be war,” said one Gambian immigration official.

As well as implementing their contingency plan to bring all 985 UK customers they currently have on holiday in the Gambia home, Thomas Cook have also cancelled all flights to the Gambia until Friday 20 January.

They will be running four additional flights on Wednesday 18 January and are contacting approximately 2,500 of their flight-only customers in the Gambia, to give them the option of early flights to the UK.

In a statement, they said: “We are dispatching a special assistance team with our first flight from the UK to provide additional support at Banjul airport for our customers. Our colleagues on the ground in the Gambia will proactively contact all customers on holiday with us as soon as possible to prepare for return to the UK.”

The FCO have advised tourists: “The potential for military intervention and civil disturbance is high and could result in Banjul International Airport being closed at short notice.

“You should follow events closely, take extra care, keep in regular contact with your tour operator and airline and continue to monitor travel advice and social media updates in case tensions rise as the current political deadlock continues.”

The new series of 24 – officially titled, for reasons fifa 17 coinsthat aren’t immediately apparent, 24: Legacy – represents the biggest risk in the show’s history. It’s bigger than Nina killing Jack’s wife, or Jack’s dad blowing up on an oil rig. It’s bigger than the move to London, bigger than the decision to cut each series down to 12 episodes and bigger than any number of hokey subplots where a mountain lion terrorises a teenage girl for LOLs.

Because in 24: Legacy, Jack Bauer is nowhere to be seen. It’s someone else’s voice gravely intoning when the following will take place. It’s someone else driving like a maniac while yelling about moles. There’s shooting and torture aplenty, but Jack Bauer – my beloved Jack Bauer, my reluctant psychopathic superhero Jack Bauer – is entirely out of the picture. That’s an incredible risk for 24 to take.

Reader, the risk paid off. I’ve seen the first Jack-less episode of 24: Legacy, and I am here to tell you that it is incredible.

Now, a quick caveat. You’ll probably only agree if you liked all the other seasons of 24. In my book, thanks to its format and movie star lead and endless dramatic rug-pulling, 24 deserves to be recognised as one of the shows that helped transform television from cinema’s poor cousin into the most creatively satisfying medium in entertainment. I love how gonzo 24 is. I love the constant march of plot, so relentless that the show usually ends up throwing itself under its own wheels to service the story. I love the blood and the death and the soft perimeters and the damnits. 24, no matter how improbable it gets, is my show.

If you disagree – if you’ve never got on with 24, or checked out when Jack chopped Chase’s arm off, or pedantically wondered when anyone went to the toilet – 24: Legacy is not for you. It is exactly the same as Kiefer-era 24. There are terrorists, there’s a presidential candidate, there’s a mole and, at the centre of it all, there’s a hero who seems reluctant to save the day even though his heart yearns for the binary clarity of violent justice.

The first episode is 24 by numbers. Our new hero – Eric Carter, played by Corey Hawkins – is in witness protection after helping to kill an Osama bin Laden analogue. Some terrorists come for him in revenge, and it seems likely that they did so on the orders of someone at CTU. Carter can trust nobody, but he’s got a gun and a friend with a surveillance drone, so the game is on.

It all unpacks in such a hurry, kicking into high gear with a breathless home invasion scene less than 10 minutes in, that you don’t have time to miss Kiefer Sutherland. When the pace eventually drops (at least as much as 24 will allow it to) you might find yourself yearning for the moments of shy sincerity that occasionally punctured Bauer’s bravado. However, even then you can’t deny that it’s refreshing to have a newcomer like Hawkins at the helm. By the end of the last series, Jack had lost everything. He’d been physically and emotionally brutalised to the point that he was just a scar, an unfeeling weapon light years from his family-man origins. He had no stakes left.

Carter, though, has everything to lose. He’s a real person with a wife, friends, and a life that he’s come to rely on. There is not a chance that he’ll still have all three by the end of these 12 episodes, but that’s probably the point.